Family Outings Committee
The Family Outings Committee schedules adventures in western Massachusetts every month throughout the year. These adventures include family friendly hikes, experiential outdoor activities that teach outdoor skills and conservation concepts, seasonal crafts and games, camping, family nights and much more. We strive to instill confidence, collaboration, understanding and an appreciation of the outdoors so as to foster, respect and stewardship of our planet and all living things.
Our focus is to get everyone outdoors. To that end we are experienced family leaders and we work hard to accommodate your needs, meeting you where you are in your outdoor experience.
Children of all ages and their families (including grandparents) are invited to join us. AMC requires that a parent/guardian (18 years of age and over) attend with children at all events.
We hope you'll join us in one of the many events listed on this site. Suggestions for additional events to add to the current schedule are welcome.
StoryWalk®
We also work with other organizations to increase our reach and ability to offer interesting programs for families.
An example of this kind of collaboration is the ongoing, self-guided StoryWalk
® available year round at AMC Noble View Outdoor Center, in Russell, MA. The story changes each month and often reflects a nature theme. A Storywalk
® offers families an active outdoor reading experience, where a children's picture book has been deconstructed and then placed page by page along a path. Families walk, read and talk their way through the story. To access the book, hike behind the Noble View barn and follow the signs. No registration is required.
The AMC Western MA Family Outings Committee is thankful for a collaboration with the Hilltown Family Center which has sponsored the Storywalk
® through a
Coordinated Family and Community Engagement Grant through the
Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care. The Storywalk
® Project was created by Anne Ferguson of Montpelier, VT and developed in collaboration with the Vermont Bicycle & Pedestrian Coalition and the Kellogg Hubbard Library.
Upcoming Activities
Click or tap on the Register links to learn more and/or register for activities.
Water Creatures in the Stream
Location: Russell, MA
Date: 11‑May‑2024
Register »Come splash in the stream behind the Russell Public Library for some outdoor spring FUN! With nets and magnifying field microscopes, we'll see water creatures up close and personal. If wading is not for you, we'll have white examination trays with rocks and mud for your investigation. Also included will be a guided Storywalk
® of "Over and Under the Pond". A copy of the book and a RAFFLE for a FREE book for one lucky participant to take home will be available at the library!
Sweet Spring, Maple Syrup Hike
Location: Worthington, MA
Date: 18‑May‑2024
Register »Families and casual hikers are you ready to indulge in what spring has to offer in the hilltowns of western Massachusetts? Join us for a hike on the Conwell Property Trail in Worthington (part of Hilltown Land Trust) and then partake in a sugar house buffet at High Hopes Farm in Worthington. The hike is rated as an easy, 2.3 mile, out and back gently rolling route with a water crossing. Following our hike, we will return to our cars to ride the short distance to High Hopes Farm Sugar House to enjoy the buffet.
I Spy Signs of Spring Nature Hike
Location: Russell, MA
Date: 15‑Jun‑2024
Register »Families can you spy signs of spring? Join us for a hike to a vernal pool at Noble View Outdoor Center. The hike is rated as an easy, 1.8 mile, out and back route. On the way there we can spy on plants and animals waking up for spring. Families are invited to bring a picnic lunch to have at the View following the hike. Visit the
registration page to learn more.
Hikes With Tykes
Location: Holyoke, MA
Date: 24‑Dec‑2024
Register »If you are the parent, grandparent or primary caretaker of a wee one, birth to 2 years, you are invited to join an AMC Western MA bimonthly hike series geared to get you and your little one out on the trail in and around the Connecticut River Valley. Momma Kayla and Nanna Dawne are planning guided, easy stroller or baby backpack hikes in the afternoon on the 2nd and 4th Mondays of every month beginning on April 8th. This is a way for you and your child to connect with nature and other parents and child caretakers in a safe, inclusive way with trained AMC hike leaders.
Activity Schedule
All activities are subject to cancellation due to poor weather conditions. Check
activities on outdoors.org for up-to-the-minute additions not yet shown here. Not all activities may be posted yet.